Published: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 11:26 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 11:26 p.m.

Lauren Cecil loved swimming for the Brookside swim team. At 11 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her. Her parents, Lori and Keith Cecil, said the swim team was one of her true loves, and she looked forward to the summer swim season all year long.

Tuesday, swim practice turned tragic. While finishing up, a power line fell near the pool, and somehow sent a current into the water. The two other girls in the water climbed to the side and got out safely. Lauren did what comes naturally to most swimmers — she reached for the ladder. Made of metal, that proved to be fatal. The electricity in the ladder gripped her and wouldn't let go; lifeguards, in an unbelievable act of quick thinking and heroics, did all they could to save her. They couldn't grab her, they couldn't jump in. Had they done that, there would have been multiple victims.

By the time they got her on the pool deck and out of the water, she was essentially gone. Ten minutes of CPR proved unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital.

Her mother was there. Not only does she have to bury her only child, she had to watch her child take her last breath in a tragic, freak accident.

Brookside's Julie Rhodes was struggling to come to terms with it Wednesday. "It's just a freak, freak thing," she said. "We had everything checked today, everything worked perfectly.

"They didn't have any recommendations for us to do anything any differently. It's kind of frustrating to know, there was nothing that could be done."

The actions of the lifeguards on duty were phenomenal. Jonathan Hench, Lucas Rhodes and Caroline Burkhart couldn't have possibly prepared for that tragedy. Most people, one can only assume, consider being a lifeguard at the local pool as a pie job to end all pie jobs. Getting a tan, twirling a whistle, and watching kids swim all day. And you get paid for that? Unbelievable.

But in the rare event someone goes under, the procedures are pretty standard. Good lifeguards will see a swimmer struggling, and when they go under, the guards are right there for the rescue.

There is no way that trio of youngsters could have been prepared for what they encountered Tuesday. It's about like the attacks on Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina; you simply can't imagine those things happening.

The Davidson County Aquatics Association championship meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Denton Swim Club. Brookside is perennially one of the top two or three teams in the DCAA, and hopes to challenge three-time defending champion Arcadia this weekend.

Rhodes wasn't sure if her team would participate in the meet on the heels of Tuesday's tragedy. But Lauren's parents, Lori and Keith, insisted that the Barracudas swim on. They said Lauren loved the swim team, and it was one of the highlights of her year every year.

Rhodes said she believes, while the meet is always competitive, the other teams will wrap their arms around the Barracudas with love and support. "That's what I'm expecting," she said. "I've had a lot of emails from people at other pools, offering to do whatever they can to help us. We've just had a whole lot of support from everybody."

The Cecil family will certainly need all of the support it can get. No one can possibly fathom the pain they are feeling right now. My hope is that we will all hug our children a little tighter today, and cherish every moment we have with them. We simply never know when they will be gone.

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.

<p>My baby boy, Tucker, turns 8 today. My older son, Jake, will be 10 in a month.</p><p>I cannot imagine burying either one of them.</p><p>Lauren Cecil loved swimming for the Brookside swim team. At 11 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her. Her parents, Lori and Keith Cecil, said the swim team was one of her true loves, and she looked forward to the summer swim season all year long.</p><p>Tuesday, swim practice turned tragic. While finishing up, a power line fell near the pool, and somehow sent a current into the water. The two other girls in the water climbed to the side and got out safely. Lauren did what comes naturally to most swimmers — she reached for the ladder. Made of metal, that proved to be fatal. The electricity in the ladder gripped her and wouldn't let go; lifeguards, in an unbelievable act of quick thinking and heroics, did all they could to save her. They couldn't grab her, they couldn't jump in. Had they done that, there would have been multiple victims.</p><p>By the time they got her on the pool deck and out of the water, she was essentially gone. Ten minutes of CPR proved unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital.</p><p>Her mother was there. Not only does she have to bury her only child, she had to watch her child take her last breath in a tragic, freak accident.</p><p>Brookside's Julie Rhodes was struggling to come to terms with it Wednesday. "It's just a freak, freak thing," she said. "We had everything checked today, everything worked perfectly.</p><p>"They didn't have any recommendations for us to do anything any differently. It's kind of frustrating to know, there was nothing that could be done."</p><p>The actions of the lifeguards on duty were phenomenal. Jonathan Hench, Lucas Rhodes and Caroline Burkhart couldn't have possibly prepared for that tragedy. Most people, one can only assume, consider being a lifeguard at the local pool as a pie job to end all pie jobs. Getting a tan, twirling a whistle, and watching kids swim all day. And you get paid for that? Unbelievable.</p><p>But in the rare event someone goes under, the procedures are pretty standard. Good lifeguards will see a swimmer struggling, and when they go under, the guards are right there for the rescue. </p><p>There is no way that trio of youngsters could have been prepared for what they encountered Tuesday. It's about like the attacks on Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina; you simply can't imagine those things happening.</p><p>The Davidson County Aquatics Association championship meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Denton Swim Club. Brookside is perennially one of the top two or three teams in the DCAA, and hopes to challenge three-time defending champion Arcadia this weekend.</p><p>Rhodes wasn't sure if her team would participate in the meet on the heels of Tuesday's tragedy. But Lauren's parents, Lori and Keith, insisted that the Barracudas swim on. They said Lauren loved the swim team, and it was one of the highlights of her year every year.</p><p>Rhodes said she believes, while the meet is always competitive, the other teams will wrap their arms around the Barracudas with love and support. "That's what I'm expecting," she said. "I've had a lot of emails from people at other pools, offering to do whatever they can to help us. We've just had a whole lot of support from everybody."</p><p>The Cecil family will certainly need all of the support it can get. No one can possibly fathom the pain they are feeling right now. My hope is that we will all hug our children a little tighter today, and cherish every moment we have with them. We simply never know when they will be gone.</p><p>Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.</p>